Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Spread the Wealth

In July 2009, members of the Greater Golden Hill Maintenance Assessment District (MAD) convinced a majority of city councilmembers to cut fiscal year 2010's assessment in half, preventing the collection of new assessments until existing rollover funds were spent.

The maintenance assessment district, approved by voters in 2007, provides services such as graffiti abatement and litter removal.

In June the city council will vote on a new year's budget for the Greater Golden Hill MAD, and once again the community is littered with objections. According to the website for Golden Hill Community Development, the organization that administers the MAD, the budget for fiscal year 2011 is at $732,746. The original amount approved by voters and included in the engineer's report is $488,590.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"The budget posted by the Golden Hill Community Development Corporation for the Golden Hill Maintenance Assessment District is excessive," wrote a group of Golden Hill and South Park residents in a letter to the Greater Golden Hill CDC and the City. "The amount of $732,746 far exceeds the amount approved by the voters for annual expenditures. That amount is $488,590. Please discuss with the City of San Diego ways of reducing your expenses to that amount."

Some residents feel that if surpluses exist then they should be used toward that next year’s assessment, not stuffed into a bank account or used to expand the scope of services.

The residents cite state law to prove their case: Streets and Highways Code #22656 states, "If there is a surplus or a deficit in the improvement fund of an assessment district at the end of any fiscal year, the surplus or deficit shall be carried forward to the next annual assessment to be levied within such district and applied as a credit or debit, as the case may be, against such assessment."

"I think they should apply any excess over $488,890 to reduce the taxpayer's costs for next year," writes Golden Hill resident and opponent of the MAD, Barbara Houlton in an April 27 email. "This is not an original idea; the state law addresses it."

The Greater Golden Hill CDC approved the budget during an April meeting. City staff will review the draft budget before delivering it to the city council in June.

This correspondent contacted Pedro Anaya, the executive director for the Greater Golden Hill CDC and is awaiting his response.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

City late to extricate foxtails from Fiesta Island

Noxious seeds found in chest walls and hearts, and even the brain cavity of dead dogs
Next Article

Chula Vista not boring

I had to play “Johnny B. Goode” five times in a row. I got knocked out with an upper-cut on stage for not playing Aerosmith.

In July 2009, members of the Greater Golden Hill Maintenance Assessment District (MAD) convinced a majority of city councilmembers to cut fiscal year 2010's assessment in half, preventing the collection of new assessments until existing rollover funds were spent.

The maintenance assessment district, approved by voters in 2007, provides services such as graffiti abatement and litter removal.

In June the city council will vote on a new year's budget for the Greater Golden Hill MAD, and once again the community is littered with objections. According to the website for Golden Hill Community Development, the organization that administers the MAD, the budget for fiscal year 2011 is at $732,746. The original amount approved by voters and included in the engineer's report is $488,590.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"The budget posted by the Golden Hill Community Development Corporation for the Golden Hill Maintenance Assessment District is excessive," wrote a group of Golden Hill and South Park residents in a letter to the Greater Golden Hill CDC and the City. "The amount of $732,746 far exceeds the amount approved by the voters for annual expenditures. That amount is $488,590. Please discuss with the City of San Diego ways of reducing your expenses to that amount."

Some residents feel that if surpluses exist then they should be used toward that next year’s assessment, not stuffed into a bank account or used to expand the scope of services.

The residents cite state law to prove their case: Streets and Highways Code #22656 states, "If there is a surplus or a deficit in the improvement fund of an assessment district at the end of any fiscal year, the surplus or deficit shall be carried forward to the next annual assessment to be levied within such district and applied as a credit or debit, as the case may be, against such assessment."

"I think they should apply any excess over $488,890 to reduce the taxpayer's costs for next year," writes Golden Hill resident and opponent of the MAD, Barbara Houlton in an April 27 email. "This is not an original idea; the state law addresses it."

The Greater Golden Hill CDC approved the budget during an April meeting. City staff will review the draft budget before delivering it to the city council in June.

This correspondent contacted Pedro Anaya, the executive director for the Greater Golden Hill CDC and is awaiting his response.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Ed Kornhauser, Peter Sprague, Stepping Feet, The Thieves About, Benches

The music of Carole King and more in La Jolla, Carlsbad, Little Italy
Next Article

Deciduous trees sprouting new life, Bracken ferns pushing up their "fiddleheads"

Annual Lyriad shower might be washed out by full moon
Comments
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
Oct. 23, 2011
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.